NEWPORT NEWS. Va. – The Salisbury University men's basketball team cut a 25-point second-half deficit to as much as two in the final minutes of the game but the fourth-ranked Christopher Newport Captains hung on to an 80-76 win in Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference (C2C) action on Saturday.

BOX SCORE

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The two teams traded threes to start the contest with Gary Briddell knocking down Salisbury's first basket of the game a minute into the contest.
• After the threes, CNU jumped out to a 20-7 lead eight minutes into the contest behind a 17-4 scoring run.
• Salisbury brought the lead down to single-digits when Ryan Marshall made back-to-back buckets, including a three, to cut the deficit to 27-18 at the eight-minute mark of the first.
• CNU extended the lead back to double-digits before the half on a 20-8 run. Sean Carr got the final bucket in the waning moments of the first half to trim the CNU lead down to 47-28 at halftime.
• Salisbury's shots went cold to begin the second half with CNU getting out to its largest lead of the game of 25 points, 55-30, three minutes into the second half.
• The Sea Gulls would respond with an 11-2 run before the second media timeout of the second half. The run was capped by two-straight lay-ins by Briddell to cut the CNU lead down to 57-41.
• Salisbury stepped up the defensive pressure coming out of the media timeout and continued the chip away at the lead. After CNU extended its lead to 72-58 with 4:14 left in regulation, Salisbury got out on an 18-7 scoring run to cut the deficit to 78-76 with 47 seconds left in the game. During the run, the Sea Gulls went a perfect 7-for-7 from the field, including 3-for-3 from deep. The Sea Gull defense also forced two CNU turnovers.
• Salisbury continued the full-court press and got a Jahn Hines miss from three in the waning moments. Jordan Oates reeled in the defensive board but the outlet pass deflected off of a CNU player and back with the Captains.
• Needing to foul, Salisbury sent Jason Aigner to the line but he knocked down both free throws to push the lead back up to four, 80-76, with 12 seconds left on regulation.
• After a timeout, Rob Goyena's three to cut the lead to one hit front iron while Bloodworth's second-chance shot hit back iron to allow CNU to escape with the win.

SALISBURY GAME NOTES

• Salisbury outshot CNU from the field. Salisbury shot 46.3 percent (31-67) compared to CNU's 43.6 percent (24-55). In the second half, Salisbury was 51.3 percent (20-39) shooting and 5-of-9 from three.
• Four players reached double figures for the Sea Gulls. Gary Briddell scored a team-high 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting and 2-for-3 from three. Briddell also pulled down five rebounds.
• Greg Bloodsworth and Brandon Craig each shot 5-fo-11 from the field. Bloodsworth tallied 15 points, four assists and four steals while Craig registered 12 points.
• Ryan Marshall recorded 11 points, four rebounds and three steals.
• Jordan Oates collected nine boards and scored seven points.
• As a team, Salisbury stole the ball 13 times. Salisbury also won the rebounding battle, 36-35, over CNU.

CNU GAME NOTES

• Jason Aigner scored a game-high 23 points on 6-of-10 shooting.
• Darian Patterson recorded a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds.
• Jahn Hines also reached double figures with 16 points.

UP NEXT

• Salisbury concludes the 2022 regular season on the road against the Mary Washington Eagles on Wednesday, Feb. 16.
• Game time is set for 7 p.m. in Fredericksburg, Va.